emile1138's 3d printed tree hugger WIP

[StormyStormtrooper]

May I ask how you designed the fan mounts for the helmet? They look really nice, and I kinda wanted to know the layout. I know people already said this, but it's really nice seeing a 3D printing thread, it really inspires me. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

[emile1138]

9 hours ago, StormyStormtrooper said:

May I ask how you designed the fan mounts for the helmet? They look really nice, and I kinda wanted to know the layout. I know people already said this, but it's really nice seeing a 3D printing thread, it really inspires me. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Thanks for this! Seriously I'm having a blast working on this and I'm really excited to be a part of the Legion again but being able to help or inspire others is really putting the icing on this cake!

The fan ducts I used Tinkercad. It took a lot of time and effort as I don't have any professional modeling skills with real 3D software, but I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. Basically I imported the same helmet faceplate file I used for printing, and modeled digital replicas of the fans I ordered on Amazon. I placed the fans where I wanted them in digital 3D space and started building around them and the faceplate to make the mounting and airflow I wanted. Then I used the faceplate as a tool to cut away the ducts do they matched the curves of the inside of the faceplate perfectly, split the individual pieces up for printing, and printed. A little glue, some paint, some screws, some soldering, and they're ready for install

Hope this helps! If it's still unclear I could explore making a video trying to show more in detail how I did it

[emile1138]

Update time! 😎

 

Helmet Progress:

I've finished the painting on the helmet, and now I'm on to the final stages of finishing it up. I'm really nervous to point this out... but I'm afraid I may have gone overboard with the weathering. I wanted my scout to look beat up, but I know the CRL says "may be lightly weathered". The weathering got away from me a little and I'm afraid I may have gone a little too far. There's a scout in our local garrison that's even dirtier than this though, and if you look at the screen used costumes they're so weathered that some armor parts look tan or brown, so I think I might be fine? I don't know, please let me know what you all think...

At this point my list of things to complete the helmet is pretty short (as long as I don't have to do a complete repaint if the weathering is bad)...

-Finish cutting and applying the decals. I've already added the rear vents and the faux "holes" on the ears because I had black vinyl on hand, but I have medium grey vinyl on order to make the frown, traps, face plate stripes, and fishhook. I ordered the printed stickers from Trooperbay but just out of curiosity. I don't plan on actually using them, I want to make my own with the grey vinyl I have on order.

-Mounting the fans and battery for the fans. The fan mounting has already been planned and is easy, but the battery I'm having a hard time figuring out where I can mount it in the helmet...more on that in the next update.

-Make / mount the visor. The helmet has an internal recess where the visor will mount, so it should be pretty simple. I'll make a paper template that fits the helmet perfectly, recreate it in Illustrator, cut it in smoke acrylic on the laser cutter, heat and curve it to match the curve of the helmet, then mount with super glue.

-Figure out the whole chin cup and chin cup strapping situation. Not sure where to start here so I could use some pointers from you all.

After the above has been completed, the helmet is done and all I have to focus on is armor! Speaking of armor...

 

Armor Progress:

Now that I have more filament I'm making significant progress on MrPoopie's armor files. I've figured out the scaling issue of the bicep armor from my previous update, where printing them at 120% is a perfect snug fit on my arm. A smidge of heating with the heat gun and widening the opening of the curve and it should be perfect sizing for when the undersuit is on underneath it as well. I've also scaled up the Tbit details and printed them again, so now I have the complete set of bicep armors scaled properly!

In addition, I've also taken a detour to print the blaster. I didn't do any filling/sanding work on it, and I only did a simple rushed paint job on it. It's going to be tucked in my boot most of the time as I have a DLT-19x I printed a while ago that will be finished and my primary trooping weapon. I wanted to get the blaster out of the way though, as my Wampa Wear gloves came in and I couldn't be more happy with the quality, I just needed the scout pistol to hold with those gloves!

I've also printed both of the forearm pieces, interestingly enough they needed no scaling whatsoever. They fit, and are even a little loose on my arm, at 100% scale. So here's an overall shot of my current progress!

 

Printing Progress:

I've decided to start tackling the chest and back armor...but because of the inconsistent scaling of the other armor bits to fit my weird body shape, I can't afford the time and filament cost in printing the large multi-part torso armor pieces over and over again until I found the right size for me.

That's when I found Armorsmith.... a little Googling lead me to this cosplay tool that lets you create a digital mannequin with all your body measurements and import 3D files, scale them and position them to get an idea of how they'd fit in real life. It was $30 and I don't know how accurate it will be with helping me scale my armor appropriately and save filament costs, but it seems pretty promising. Here's a link of you want to check it out for yourself.

I imported the full chest and back files and placed them approximately where I think they should go. Thanks to MrPoopie for including the full chest and back files as well as the cut versions otherwise this wouldn't have been doable. I found that 115% scale on the torso armor seems about right in this software, and this seems pretty consistent with the scaling I've been doing with the other armor bits so I'm going for it.

I used this information to scale up the eight torso armor pieces to 115% as well (four chest parts, four back parts). Thanks again to MrPoopie for all his hard work and including both full and cut armor parts! The first part of the chest is printing as I type this post.

 

More updates will come as I get further along!

Thanks to everyone who's been reading and helping! I really love the feedback and help you all have been throwing my way 😄

[PhilBobTheFish]

Helmet looks great in my personal opinion, but I will let the more experienced chime in on matters.

[Selle]

1 hour ago, emile1138 said:

Update time! 😎

 

Helmet Progress:

I've finished the painting on the helmet, and now I'm on to the final stages of finishing it up. I'm really nervous to point this out... but I'm afraid I may have gone overboard with the weathering. I wanted my scout to look beat up, but I know the CRL says "may be lightly weathered". The weathering got away from me a little and I'm afraid I may have gone a little too far. There's a scout in our local garrison that's even dirtier than this though, and if you look at the screen used costumes they're so weathered that some armor parts look tan or brown, so I think I might be fine? I don't know, please let me know what you all think...

At this point my list of things to complete the helmet is pretty short (as long as I don't have to do a complete repaint if the weathering is bad)...

-Finish cutting and applying the decals. I've already added the rear vents and the faux "holes" on the ears because I had black vinyl on hand, but I have medium grey vinyl on order to make the frown, traps, face plate stripes, and fishhook. I ordered the printed stickers from Trooperbay but just out of curiosity. I don't plan on actually using them, I want to make my own with the grey vinyl I have on order.

-Mounting the fans and battery for the fans. The fan mounting has already been planned and is easy, but the battery I'm having a hard time figuring out where I can mount it in the helmet...more on that in the next update.

-Make / mount the visor. The helmet has an internal recess where the visor will mount, so it should be pretty simple. I'll make a paper template that fits the helmet perfectly, recreate it in Illustrator, cut it in smoke acrylic on the laser cutter, heat and curve it to match the curve of the helmet, then mount with super glue.

-Figure out the whole chin cup and chin cup strapping situation. Not sure where to start here so I could use some pointers from you all.

After the above has been completed, the helmet is done and all I have to focus on is armor! Speaking of armor...

 

Armor Progress:

Now that I have more filament I'm making significant progress on MrPoopie's armor files. I've figured out the scaling issue of the bicep armor from my previous update, where printing them at 120% is a perfect snug fit on my arm. A smidge of heating with the heat gun and widening the opening of the curve and it should be perfect sizing for when the undersuit is on underneath it as well. I've also scaled up the Tbit details and printed them again, so now I have the complete set of bicep armors scaled properly!

In addition, I've also taken a detour to print the blaster. I didn't do any filling/sanding work on it, and I only did a simple rushed paint job on it. It's going to be tucked in my boot most of the time as I have a DLT-19x I printed a while ago that will be finished and my primary trooping weapon. I wanted to get the blaster out of the way though, as my Wampa Wear gloves came in and I couldn't be more happy with the quality, I just needed the scout pistol to hold with those gloves!

I've also printed both of the forearm pieces, interestingly enough they needed no scaling whatsoever. They fit, and are even a little loose on my arm, at 100% scale. So here's an overall shot of my current progress!

 

Printing Progress:

I've decided to start tackling the chest and back armor...but because of the inconsistent scaling of the other armor bits to fit my weird body shape, I can't afford the time and filament cost in printing the large multi-part torso armor pieces over and over again until I found the right size for me.

That's when I found Armorsmith.... a little Googling lead me to this cosplay tool that lets you create a digital mannequin with all your body measurements and import 3D files, scale them and position them to get an idea of how they'd fit in real life. It was $30 and I don't know how accurate it will be with helping me scale my armor appropriately and save filament costs, but it seems pretty promising. Here's a link of you want to check it out for yourself.

I imported the full chest and back files and placed them approximately where I think they should go. Thanks to MrPoopie for including the full chest and back files as well as the cut versions otherwise this wouldn't have been doable. I found that 115% scale on the torso armor seems about right in this software, and this seems pretty consistent with the scaling I've been doing with the other armor bits so I'm going for it.

I used this information to scale up the eight torso armor pieces to 115% as well (four chest parts, four back parts). Thanks again to MrPoopie for all his hard work and including both full and cut armor parts! The first part of the chest is printing as I type this post.

 

More updates will come as I get further along!

Thanks to everyone who's been reading and helping! I really love the feedback and help you all have been throwing my way 😄

Im using armorsmith as well, have an avatar for me and for my daughter its alot easier to scale then. Only thing so far for me that needed scaling was the front and back. Thats why i asked MrPoopie to add an uncut chest piece. There is an facebook support group for armorsmith (link here), where the developer is active. For my Shoretrooper i didnt bother to scale the armor, instead i started to scale my body and lost 31 kilos 😃. I needed a break from all the training, but its time aigen to put some time down in the gym and long walks after work.

[Chopper]

Hey, I just  wanted to reassure you that your helmet weathering looks a-ok. The language in the CRL regarding weathering is meant to prevent folks from going full sandtrooper/mimban mudtrooper on their scout. With the scout, less is more!

[emile1138]

25 minutes ago, Chopper said:

Hey, I just  wanted to reassure you that your helmet weathering looks a-ok. The language in the CRL regarding weathering is meant to prevent folks from going full sandtrooper/mimban mudtrooper on their scout. With the scout, less is more!

That's a relief! Thanks so much for that info.

On with the rest of the helmet details then!

[emile1138]

15 hours ago, Selle said:

Im using armorsmith as well, have an avatar for me and for my daughter its alot easier to scale then. Only thing so far for me that needed scaling was the front and back. Thats why i asked MrPoopie to add an uncut chest piece. There is an facebook support group for armorsmith (link here), where the developer is active. For my Shoretrooper i didnt bother to scale the armor, instead i started to scale my body and lost 31 kilos 😃. I needed a break from all the training, but its time aigen to put some time down in the gym and long walks after work.

Joined the Facebook group, thanks for pointing me to it!

[Chopper]

One other note, if you want a good metric for appropriate weathering, check this topic:

http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/topic/17305-lancer-build-tutorial/&page=2

Strider has a post from May 11, 2017 and a youtube video that will hopefully provide additional guidance if you need it.

[emile1138]

2 minutes ago, Chopper said:

One other note, if you want a good metric for appropriate weathering, check this topic:

http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/topic/17305-lancer-build-tutorial/&page=2

Strider has a post from May 11, 2017 and a youtube video that will hopefully provide additional guidance if you need it.

Followed. This will be really useful as I move on to the armor

[emile1138]

FYI to anyone interested, I started a live stream of my printer as it's printing parts. I'm hosting it on the company Nest cam. If you want to check it out you can find it here: https://www.seemecnc.com/pages/videostream

At the time of writing this the left half of the bottom of the chest chest is already printed, and the live stream is currently printing the right half.

[Selle]

19 hours ago, Selle said:

Im using armorsmith as well, have an avatar for me and for my daughter its alot easier to scale then. Only thing so far for me that needed scaling was the front and back. Thats why i asked MrPoopie to add an uncut chest piece. There is an facebook support group for armorsmith (link here), where the developer is active. For my Shoretrooper i didnt bother to scale the armor, instead i started to scale my body and lost 31 kilos 😃. I needed a break from all the training, but its time aigen to put some time down in the gym and long walks after work.

No problem, always glad if i can help out in anyway. If you want to see your avatar behind the part. Edit the colour on the part and change  Alpha channel to 100, it makes the part translucent. And that works really well on helmets so you can see how much room you have in it.

[MrPoopie]

22 hours ago, emile1138 said:

FYI to anyone interested, I started a live stream of my printer as it's printing parts. I'm hosting it on the company Nest cam. If you want to check it out you can find it here: https://www.seemecnc.com/pages/videostream

At the time of writing this the left half of the bottom of the chest chest is already printed, and the live stream is currently printing the right half.

This is fun but it doesn't come with the terribly annoying 3D printer sounds buzzing behind my head while I work all day. I guess I'll have to supply my own soundtrack.

[emile1138]

22 minutes ago, MrPoopie said:

This is fun but it doesn't come with the terribly annoying 3D printer sounds buzzing behind my head while I work all day. I guess I'll have to supply my own soundtrack.

Wouldn't get that if the sound was on anyways because my printer is almost silent. I can't even hear it running when I'm sitting next to it

[MrPoopie]

1 minute ago, emile1138 said:

Wouldn't get that if the sound was on anyways because my printer is almost silent. I can't even hear it running when I'm sitting next to it

I'm very jealous, sounds like a very nice printer. I'm quite happy with my Prusa i3 MK2.5S print quality but it can be a bit noisy at times.

[StormyStormtrooper]

That helmet looks amazing. Super clean build so far. The inside is wonderful as well. I also had a question, so sorry if I missed it. What paint did you use? It looks really good, so I wanted to check. Thanks.

Also, about the chin strap, I found this video:

Around 10:30, it seems there are slits where you can put the elastic through. Looks like it stills needs to be secured somehow, but it's a starting point.

[emile1138]

18 hours ago, StormyStormtrooper said:

Also, about the chin strap, I found this video: *video link removed to save space on this thread*

Around 10:30, it seems there are slits where you can put the elastic through. Looks like it stills needs to be secured somehow, but it's a starting point.

Yeah this video was made by the helmet designer that designed the helmet I printed. I figured out the chin strap now, I'm about to write up another small update post so check that out when I post it...

18 hours ago, StormyStormtrooper said:

That helmet looks amazing. Super clean build so far. The inside is wonderful as well. I also had a question, so sorry if I missed it. What paint did you use? It looks really good, so I wanted to check. Thanks.

 

I exclusively used Rustoleum brand rattlecan spray paints. The primer base was Rustoleum sandable automotive filler primer, and lots of it. I buy it on Amazon in bulk because I use a lot and it's a few bucks cheaper than my local hardware store, here's a link if you're interested.

[emile1138]

Alright, I've been quiet for a few days...time for an update!

Printing / Armor Progress:

I don't have a whole lot to report here. I have printed the four chest pieces and the center brace but I haven't gone much further than that...

The reason for this is because I'm starting a side quest to create something else that will remain secret for now... but here's a sneak peek...

This secret item is related to this costume project but could benefit other costume makers, not just me. Stay tuned to find out more in later updates!

Helmet Progress:

I got a set of decals from TrooperBay, and I can see why people like them but I'm not using them. I want something cleaner and better fitting to the helmet, and I wanted to have the experience of making them myself. My grey vinyl came in, and I designed and cut all the missing decals!

I then proceeded to move on to the visor. I took a screen shot of the 3D helmet faceplate from the inside out and traced it in Illustrator, then printed and cut it out in paper to see how the shape fit.

I had to adjust the shape, re-print, and re-cut to get a shape that fit really well in the helmet...

I then cut the shape I landed on in smoke acrylic on the laser.

I mounted the visor, then finished installing the fans and batteries.

Then I removed and re-installed all the helmet padding with better velcro, because the velcro pads they came with originally really sucked. I'm a lot happier with the new pattern and how much more solid they're attached now!

I tried installing the chin cup, but it doesn't fit between my fat chin and my fan mounting system. It seems the chin cup is optional, but I really like the look of the elastic strap on the sides of the helmet when you lift the faceplate up...so I made a compromise. I mounted "faux" chin straps with velcro, that give the look of the externally mounted elastic but doesn't actually incorporate the chin cup.

And with those final steps, the helmet is now 100% complete!

More updates to come...

I'm really excited about this little side project I'm working on, I can't wait to show you all! Thanks for reading!

[Jesus.Salmeron]

Wow, amazing job. Congrats!  This is the best print of my helmet. I love it

[emile1138]

4 minutes ago, Jesus.Salmeron said:

Wow, amazing job. Congrats!  This is the best print of my helmet. I love it

Holy crap the man himself! I didn't know you had an account on here. Thanks so much for the compliment, and thanks so much for making such a great design! If there's something else you model up you want me to print and finish let me know

[emile1138]

Alright all, I finished up that super secret side project I was working on...

I decided my helmet needed a sweet helmet stand, but I didn't feel like any of the ones I found online were cool enough... So I made my own!

My goal was to make a helmet stand that's everything I've ever wanted in a helmet stand, and I made it customizable to offer up for sale to others who want one too. Took me quite a few weeks of testing ans revising the design, but I'm really happy with how it turned out!

If you're interested, check out my website here.

NOW I can get back to printing more armor parts! I'm working with others in my area to get an armor party together so I may have some cool build day photos for future posts too. More progress soon!

[PhilBobTheFish]

A nice stand for a nice helmet. Great work!

[emile1138]

5 minutes ago, PhilBobTheFish said:

A nice stand for a nice helmet. Great work!

Thanks PhilBob!